PONDERWALL | Magazine of Science & Culture

THE SCIENCE OF FOREST THERAPY

HUGE WILDFIRES IN THE ARCTIC AND FAR NORTH SEND A PLANETARY WARNING

The arctic and far North are burning. This summer, over 600 wildfires have consumed more than 2.4 million acres of forest across Alaska.

FACEAPP’S FINE PRINT MEANS YOU EFFECTIVELY CAN’T SUE THEM, UNLESS YOU SEND A LETTER TO THEIR RUSSIAN OFFICE

Politics, Technology

Faceapp can do whatever it likes with your photos. More concerning is the range of disturbing conditions users unwittingly sign up to.

WHY FEWER AND FEWER AMERICANS ARE GETTING DIVORCED

Politics

The number of divorced persons per 1,000 Americans fell from 4.7 in 1990 to 2.9 in 2016. Who is driving this downward trend?

REDEFINING THE KILOGRAM MEANS REDEFINING HOW WE MEASURE WEALTH

Science

On World Metrology Day 2019, the kilogram was fundamentally redefined. Its value is now defined by the energetics of a hoard of photons.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: WHY THE TRANSFER WINDOW HAS LOST SOME OF ITS EXCITEMENT

Sports

English clubs spent £1.24 billion in 2018, even though they just reached 2017 record of £1.4 billion, 2019 window seems to have been an endurance event.

THE NEW FIELD OF SONOGENETICS USES SOUND WAVES TO CONTROL THE BEHAVIOR OF BRAIN CELLS

Science

Sonogenetics offers a novel therapeutic strategy for various movement-related disorders including Parkinson’s, epilepsy and dyskinesia.

DATA REVEALS THE VALUE OF AN ASSIST IN BASKETBALL

Sports

More than 90 percent of corner three-point shots are assisted, while shots above the break are assisted at a rate just above 70 percent.

WE FOUND RESERVOIRS OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA ACROSS LONDON

Politics, Science

antibiotics resistant bacteria found in london reservoirs

Out of the 600 bacteria we found, nearly half were MRSA and multidrug resistant, meaning they were immune to treatment from several types of antibiotics.

GERMANY’S DEEP ROOTED OBSESSION WITH SAVING – A BRIEF HISTORY

Economics, Politics

Germans not only save more than their UK counterparts, but the deep rooted national habit has more implications for Germany than those numbers would reveal.

STIFF MUSCLES ARE A COUNTER-INTUITIVE SUPERPOWER OF NBA ATHLETES

Sports

For elite athletes like professional basketball players, muscle stiffness is not only something that is necessary, you could say it’s their superpower.

OPIOID EPIDEMIC MAY HAVE COST STATES AT LEAST $130 BILLION IN TREATMENT AND RELATED EXPENSES – AND THAT’S JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

Politics

The devastating health effects of the opioid epidemic have been well documented, with over 700,000 overdose deaths and millions more affected.

HOW THE GOVERNMENT CAN STEAL YOUR STUFF: 6 QUESTIONS ABOUT CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE ANSWERED

Politics

Civil asset forfeiture laws let authorities seize property – cash, a house, a car, a cellphone – that they suspect is involved in criminal activity.

SPACE JUNK: A RECYCLING STATION COULD BE CLEANING UP IN EARTH ORBIT BY 2050

Politics

By 2050, Gateway Earth – a fully operational space station with a facility to recycle old satellites and other junk – could be up and running.

FACEBOOK ALGORITHM CHANGES SUPPRESSED JOURNALISM AND MEDDLED WITH DEMOCRACY

Politics

A few months before the 2016 election, an even bigger algorithm change toward friends and family posts took a second toll on publisher traffic.

THEY MAY OWE NOTHING – HALF MILLION DOLLAR DIALYSIS BILL CANCELED

Misc

Fresenius, one of the largest dialysis providers in the U.S., has agreed to waive a $524k bill for a man who received 14 weeks of dialysis.

WORLD BANK RULING AGAINST PAKISTAN SHOWS GLOBAL ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE IS BROKEN

Economics, Politics

Secretive World Bank tribunal ordered Pakistan to pay a mining company $5.8 billion — nearly as much as the IMF loan — to resolve a dispute.

BORIS JOHNSON BY NUMBERS: THE NEXT UK PRIME MINISTER’S CAREER SUMMED UP

Politics

It is hard to pin down just what it is Johnson believes in, given his habit of doing and saying whatever is needed to achieve his goals.

WHAT’S REALLY BEHIND BASEBALL’S HOME RUN SURGE?

Sports

It seems that recent changes to the ball are playing a role in the uptick in home runs. Other factors are the climate and advanced analytics.

OUR DATABASE OF POLICE OFFICERS WHO SHOOT CITIZENS REVEALS WHO’S MOST LIKELY TO SHOOT

Politics

When all the officers that fired at a civilian were black, a person was 2.0 times more likely to be black than when all the officers who fired were white.

GLOBAL INEQUALITY IS 25% HIGHER THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A CLIMATE-STABLE WORLD

Economics, Politics

The gap in GDP per capita between richer and poorer countries is 25% higher than it would have been in a climate-stable world.

HOW THE 1869 CINCINNATI RED STOCKINGS TURNED BASEBALL INTO A NATIONAL SENSATION

Sports

The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team in 1869 and went on to win an unprecedented 81 straight games.

WASHINGTON STATE’S BIG BET ON FREE COLLEGE

Politics

Washington state enacted the landmark Workforce Education Investment Act into law in May 2019. The main idea behind it is to make college more affordable.

TRANSFER DEADLINE MEDICALS – HOW INACCURATE TESTS MAY LEAD TO CLUBS MAKING THE WRONG DECISIONS ABOUT PLAYERS

Sports

Premier League clubs paid £217m in wages to injured players in 2017-2018. So financially, football clubs need to ensure a footballer can actually play.

HOW WOULD ENGINEERS BUILD THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE TODAY?

Technology

Engineers have suggested reconstructing the Golden Gate Bridge in a way that would limit ongoing maintenance and operation bills.

SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS WILL SOON BE UNRECOGNISABLE – TIME FOR AN URGENT PUBLIC CONVERSATION

Politics

Face recognition highlights bigger questions around which types of surveillance cameras and systems are acceptable to society.

TO UPGRADE OR NOT UPGRADE? THAT IS THE ALL-TOO-FREQUENT QUESTION

Technology

The question of whether or not to go for the upgrade or stick with the devil you know is an increasingly common contemporary dilemma

GREEN BAY PACKERS FANS LOVE THAT THEIR TEAM DOESN’T HAVE AN OWNER – JUST DON’T CALL IT COMMUNISM

Politics

Wasn’t the principle virtue of the Green Bay Packers based in a communist idea: collective ownership of the means of production?

WHEN WORLD LEADERS THOUGHT YOU SHOULDN’T NEED PASSPORTS OR VISAS

Politics

In 1914, France, Germany, and Italy made passports mandatory. The passport conference of 1920 wanted to restore the pre-war freedom of movement regime.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA’S SHOWDOWN WITH THE BIGGEST ACADEMIC PUBLISHER AIMS TO CHANGE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING

Science

The high stakes standoff between Elsevier, the world’s largest publisher of scholarly research, and the University of California.

GAMERS USE MACHINE LEARNING TO NAVIGATE COMPLEX VIDEO GAMES – BUT IT’S NOT FREE

Technology

Some video games track your activity as you play. The aim is to create systems that can learn about the game, and coach you to become a competent player.

FURTIVE LOOKS, NERVOUSNESS, HESITATION: HOW NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION INFLUENCES THE JUSTICE SYSTEM?

Politics

Pauses in answers, body movements, elusive or angry looks, confusion, anxiety — the facial expressions and gestures made by witnesses matter in court.

SPIDER GLUE’S STICKY SECRET REVEALED BY NEW GENETIC RESEARCH

Science

The glue has the potential for many unique applications and is biodegradable, water soluble and stays sticky for months or even years.

WHAT THE TORONTO RAPTORS HAVE TAUGHT US ABOUT RESILIENCE

Sports

The Toronto Raptors have won their first NBA title in franchise history, and their star player, Kawhi Leonard, was crowned the most valuable player.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO DISMANTLE THE AGENCY OVERSEEING 2 MILLION FEDERAL WORKERS

Politics

The Trump administration wants to dismantle the agency overseeing 2 million federal workers – and weaken safeguards against partisanship.

LIBRA: FOUR REASONS TO BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS ABOUT FACEBOOK’S NEW CURRENCY

Technology

Facebook has unveiled libra, a controversial cryptocurrency that will enable users to make international payments over Messenger and other group platforms.

U.K. PROPOSAL TO ‘BCC’ LAW ENFORCEMENT ON MESSAGING APPS THREATENS GLOBAL PRIVACY

Politics

The proposal’s function is to give law enforcement power to listen in on encrypted apps communications (like those on WhatsApp, for example).

REWILDING: AS FARMLAND AND VILLAGES ARE ABANDONED, FORESTS, WOLVES AND BEARS ARE RETURNING TO EUROPE

Geography

Large parts of Europe have been passively rewilding for decades as people have moved out of rural areas toward urban conglomerations.

COUNTERFEIT ALCOHOL, SOMETIMES CONTAINING JET FUEL OR EMBALMING FLUID, IS A GROWING CONCERN FOR TOURISTS ABROAD

Politics

Counterfeit alcohol brings a new level of risk, as it may include added ingredients, such as methanol, known to be extremely harmful to health.

THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL SATELLITES TECHNOLOGY IS HERE – ARE WE READY FOR IT?

Science

How can we be sure that hobbyists aren’t launching their own “spy” satellites, or deploying low-cost CubeSat networks that could be used nefariously?

FIVE OPTIONS FOR BREXIT TRADE EXPLAINED

Politics

Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, a no-deal Brexit, staying in the customs union, staying in the single market, and the so-called Common Market 2.0 idea.

CHINA’S SPONGE CITIES AIM TO RE-USE 70% OF RAINWATER – HERE’S HOW

Politics

China’s sponge city initiative has an ambitious goal: by 2020, 80% of urban areas should absorb and re-use at least 70% of rainwater.

WHY THE U.S. REJECTS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE: LOOKING BACK AT NUREMBERG

Politics

Faced with U.S. rejection of international criminal justice, supporters of the ICC usually invoke the precedent of the Nuremberg Trials.

AUSTERITY HAS PUSHED THE UK’S POOREST HOUSEHOLDS FURTHER INTO DEBT – HERE’S HOW

Politics

Debt is a growing problem for people on low incomes and it has been made worse by the austerity policies that followed the 2007-08 financial crisis.

BACKGROUNDER: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT INDONESIA’S 1965 ANTI-COMMUNIST PURGE

History

In less than 48 hours, Suharto had roundly defeated the 30th September Movement. At about the same time, the abductees’ bodies were found in an old well in an area known as Lubang Buaya (Crocodile Hole) in east Jakarta.

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY, BUT IT’S NOT THE FOURTH OF JULY

Misc

The Fourth of July can be a miserable day for dogs. That’s because dogs are hardwired to be afraid of sudden, loud noises.

FROM MINIATURE SATELLITES TO GIANT SUN SHIELDS – THE EXTREME TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMING SPACE ENGINEERING

Technology

While Apollo was an example of engineering on a heroic scale, future space ventures can deliver lasting societal benefits beyond flags and footprints.

NEOLIBERALISM HAS TRICKED US INTO BELIEVING A FAIRYTALE ABOUT WHERE MONEY COMES FROM

Politics

There is nothing natural about money. There is no link to some scarce essential form of money that sets a limit to its creation.

I BUILD MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMS THAT COULD DISCOVER THE DRUGS OF THE FUTURE

Science

Discovering a new drug is one of the most challenging tasks in biology. It takes over 10 years and about US$2.6 billion to bring an average drug to market.

THE GUTS OF AN APPLE IPHONE SHOW EXACTLY WHAT TRUMP GETS WRONG ABOUT TRADE

Technology

The guts of an Apple iPhone show exactly what Trump gets wrong about trade The components of an iPhone add up to a different cost than the phone itself. Poravute Siriphiroon/Shutterstock.com Jason Dedrick, Syracuse University;